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Yesterday we ran a story on the arrest of a 19 year old hacker, said to be associated with high profile organisation Lulzsec. His mother Rita Cleary said that her 19 year old son was diagnosed with ADHD, agrophobia and Emotional Behaviour Disorder.
Rita has been speaking with UK newspaper the Daily Mail in the UK and she said he had suffered mental and emotional problems since early childhood and even attempted to take his life when he was only 10. He was also first excluded from school at the age of five, living in their home as a virtual recluse in his bedroom.
As with many people who have emotional issues, he became obsessed with the internet and left his room only to use the bathroom according to his mother. She said that she would leave meals outside his door on a tray and was allowed into his room once a week, to clean it.
As a child he was ‘completely fearless' and couldn't understand that his actions had ramifications. She added that he would even jump into the path of traffic or set fires in the house. When she tried to stop him getting access to the internet he said he would slit his wrists. She could not believe that he was a criminal mastermind. A friend of his spoke to The Sun newspaper and said that he used to inhale lighter fuel.
Ryan's mother suffers from a biopolar disorder and she seems to be blaming herself saying “I might have been able to do more to protect my baby.”
The charges against Ryan are severe. He has been accused of bringing down the websites of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and the British Phonographic Industry last year.
FBI investigators are looking into suspected attacks on various platforms, such as the CIA, Sony Entertainment and the US Senate. It is not sure if Ryan is linked to these attacks, but the investigation is still ongoing. If Ryan Cleary is found guilty in the UK, he could still be extradited to the US, as the FBI will want to question him themselves. Whether his mental state has any impact on the judgement is yet to be known.
Kitguru says: A sad tale really when factoring in his mental state.
Poor kid. but I doubt the FBI will go soft on him. scary prospects for the lad
The illness is called Agoraphobia not ‘Agrophobia’, it’s from the greek word ‘Agora’ meaning ‘marketplace’. It’s one of the seven recognized major anxiety disorders. I have Social phobia also one of the recognized seven and very similar to Agoraphobia. And like this young lad I lived most of my life as a recluse. I also obsess and spend far too much time on a computer. So I can empathise with him over his illness. But I have never hacked, nor created a virus or used my computer experience to compromise the security of others. I don’t agree with blaming his actions on his illness, his decision to hack was his own. Anxiety and ADHT sufferers know the difference between right and wrong. Our illness is debilitating and we can become angry and frustrated with society for not recognising it but it does not make us choose to disregard the law. That action lays with the lad not his illness. I chose to use my computer experience to help my family and their friends when they have computer problems and not to create problems for others.
“She added that he would even jump into the path of traffic or set fires in the house.” I’d like to also comment on this statement. I used to do stuff like that when when I was a kid, I used to light fires under the bed, how I didn’t set the house on fire is a miracle. Got very little to do with mental health though, it was because I was a young rascal. 😉
Not a day goes by that I don’t see worse crimes committed in London. Just yesterday I saw the police turn a blind eye to a large group involved in organised crime, and instead bust a couple of relatively harmless kids. Stand at a busy junction at rush hour and you’ll see psychos risking people’s lives running red lights at speed, 1000 are crippled and killed every year, I’ve seen 2 motor cyclists killed with my own eyes. But hey, a bunch of screwed up kids crash a couple of websites and all the police forces in the world spring into action. Can’t make the big guys look bad.
Hmm, cant help feeling that the natural selection should be removing them from the gene pool.